12 Days is Enough
by Endless Fandom Edits
Summary: Elena goes on a Senior Class Trip and can't wait to Kick-off the summer with a bang. What happens when she runs into the hot counselor while on her trip? AU story. All human.
1. 12 days

I groaned as I woke up to the sound of my alarm. The bright sun peaking through my windows, make my head feel like it's going to explode. Looking for my phone, I found it on the nightstand. I picked it up and muttered, "Dammit" as when I saw it was 9:30 and 3 missed calls from Caroline and I knew why.

I call Caroline back on speaker phone and the first thing I hear is "Elena Gilbert you had better have a good reason for being late!" today is the second to last week of school and all us seniors are going on our "Last Hurrah" Retreat into the wilderness.

I have no idea why Caroline would agree to going on this trip, but I'm actually excited. Alaric, my aunt Jenna's husband, is taking us and this means I'll definitely get the best cabin or tent or whatever were sleeping in. I need to get out of here for a while anyways. Jeremy is going through his druggie phase and Matt and I are still barely sharing glances after I broke up with him. This trip is well deserved on my part.

"I'm sorry Care, but we were out late last night and not everyone can recover from a hangover as easily as you." I said putting emphasis on the word hangover. I was already getting dressed, putting my hair up in a high ponytail and putting on a purple tank top, jean shorts, and flip-flops.

"Well Elena" she said mimicking my sarcastic tone, "Like you said I'm hung-over too and so is Bonnie, but she was able to get her perky ass here on time, so I expect you here in 10 because were leaving in half and hour." And she hung up.

I groaned loudly muttering to myself about how there better not be any bugs as I left the house with all my luggage and an apple in my purse.

"Wait Elena!" I heard my mom yell at me from inside right before I got in the car. I turned around and I saw my dad, my brother Jeremy, and her running out.

"You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye were you?" she asked half-jokingly.

"Of course not mom" I replied giving my sweetest smile in their direction only to be met by my dad's "I have something to say" look.

"Ok Elena. Here are the ground rules. No boys, no drugs, no drinking unless there's a designated driver and what was my last one again?" he says faking confusion "oh that's it. No boys."

"Well dad I'm just offended you think I would ever break any of these rules. " I said earning a hearty chuckle from my parents.

"Just be safe ok sweetie." My mom said as she kissed my head.

After a few "I love you"s and "be careful"s and a reluctant hug from Jeremy I was on my way to school. This was going to be a life changing trip and a great kick-off to the summer because I simply wouldn't accept anything less.

I turned into the parking lot at exactly 10:00 and saw the big yellow school busses. Not far from the busses was the blonde hair of Caroline Forbes as she directed everyone into their vehicles and ordered the football team to carry all the luggage.

I parked and got out of my car. I had just opened the trunk to get my things when someone came up to me and tapped my shoulder.

"H… Hey Elena. " – I heard a soft male voice behind me.

I turned and raised my head and saw Matt standing there all timid with his head down, not making eye contact with me.

"Do you need any help with your stuff?" he asked, still not looking at anything but the ground. I turned back to my trunk and mindlessly shuffled with some of the papers in my car.

"No thanks Matt I got it." I replied. His awkwardness was making me awkward. I could barely get the words out of my mouth loud enough.

When the silence took over I turned around to see him walking back to the busses without giving me another word. I guess this is how it's going to be the whole trip.

I trudged over to Caroline who was yelling at Tyler. Something about how "That bag is worth more than your life".

"Elena!" she yelled as she scooped me into her embrace and hugged me harder than I've ever been hugged before.

"Its good to see you too Care!" I said chucking at the blonde's enthusiasm of life.

"I mean it's only been around 12 hours since we last saw each other"

"Elena so much can happen in 12 hours! Now get on the bus. You're sitting next to Bonnie and I! Go go go." She practically yelled as she pushed me into one of the yellow school busses. Yep, with Caroline in charge of this trip, what could go wrong?

Once I got on, Ric was sitting in the bus driver's seat waiting for Caroline and me to get on the bus. "Now that we have our last passengers, were off to the Wilderness at the Salvatore site for wilderness retreats. We're going to have a lot of fun and experience a lot of things about nature that we usually take for granted. And I know the workers from the house so I even got us a bit of a discount. Lets go," he said. We all cheered as the bus started and we were finally starting the greatest adventure and Kickoff to the summer.

The ride to the Wilderness Retreat Site only took about an hour because it was just outside Virginia. The place was beautiful. I could only imagine what sleeping under the stars out here would be like. And it's so quiet. I feel like I can hear everything.

When we came to a stop I could definitely hear the banging on the bus door and someone saying, "Ric, open up its hot as-"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

When the door swung open my eyes met forest green ones. I looked him up and down and up and down. He had sandy brown hair and sculpted pink lips. And if we're going to talk about sculpted, I could already see through his tight black V-neck shirt that his body was sculpted as well. Needless to say, he looked like he was in amazing shape. But he couldn't be much older than us. He could've been in high school a few years ago .I kept gawking until I finally realized he was talking.

"Hi everyone, I'm Stefan Salvatore. I'll be your head Retreat and camping leader for the next 12 days. If you have any questions please just ask me." He said with his voice silk and smooth. He was simple and beautiful. Perfect.

One girl in our class raised her hand immediately. "Yes. You?" he said

"Ya...um, I was just wondering, how old are you?" she asked giggling with her friends.

He smiled and said, "I just turned 20 about a month ago." He was only 2 years older than us, no wonder he looked so young.

"Any other questions?" he asked, when someone inside the bus yelled, "are you single?" which got quite the wolf-whistles and cheers from the girls.

He just laughed and said, "Yes, I am single. And I'm afraid that's all the time we have for questions." I could see his face turning pink from blushing at these questions.

"We'll meet in the lunch hall in about 40 minutes and that should be enough time to pick your beds. Girls wing to the right and boys to the left. Enjoy." I heard Matt and his best friend Tyler already complaining about the girls and boys being separated.

When he left I looked to my right at Caroline who was still in shock from our gorgeous counselor's appearance.

"Care, Bonnie, Did you see him?" I asked suddenly feeling like a 13-year-old girl all over again.

Bonnie was still staring at him when she replied, "Elena, I think we just saw an angel. An angel with a hot back." I laughed when I turned to Caroline.

I thought Caroline was still in shock until she said, "Elena. He's single, you're single. He's gorgeous; you're pretty hot yourself. It's fate that were on this trip. "

I laughed at the thought. But it is a pretty good start to what is going to be the best summer of my life. And if I'm here, I might as well enjoy myself, and what better way than to learn more about this mystery guy.


	2. Best Lunch Ever

"Oh My God! How is he so hot?" Caroline nearly shouted when they made their way to lunch after getting settled in their rooms.

Elena laughed and said, "You know, I knew something great was going to happen on this trip." And boy was that Stefan something great to see.

"And now we can go on our hikes where all the guys are looking at the scenery, and all the girls are looking at the Salvatore." Bonnie added looking out into the distance dreamily.

"But we all know Elena has the super hots for him." Caroline said with a wicked smile. Bonnie nodded giving me her "I'm right" look.

I responded with my best poker face saying, "I am here to experience the retreat into nature and continue my abstinence that has been on quite a roll since Matt and I broke up."

They gave me a serious look until we all burst out laughing until I heard Bonnie say, "Well if you're not going to go after him I know someone who will. On the bus I heard Katherine telling her minions about how it would be great to have a piece of that Salvatore pie."

Oh God. Katherine and us used to be best friends until she grew boobs and stropped growing a personality. Now she's cheerleader captain, and I have it on good authority that has not been on the same abstinence track.

"No way am I letting Katherine have that hot piece of man. And I have a feeling that Elena is opposed to letting slut-zilla having her hunk, too" Caroline spit out giving me another knowing look.

Caroline Forbes had many looks. My personal favorite was her drunken flirty face. But this face was her 'don't even try to argue with me. I know I'm right.' face. I hate that face.

"Ok. Fine maybe in the last 20 minutes of being here I might have fantasized about having Stefan on my arm, that doesn't mean that he even knows I exist."

Bonnie chimes in saying: "I guess we'll just have to show him you exist" I was surprised. Usually it's Caroline who makes the plans concerning the boys.

When arrived at the lunch hall it was a fairly big room. I would say it was the size of a football field. There was a stage on the left and it was filled with make-your-own stations for salads, burgers, pizza, basically food heaven. I saw Stefan taking a seat at one of the long red lunch tables.

Katherine was staring at him from 2 tables over and basically undressing him with her eyes.

Seeing that actually infuriated me. Which was weird because I didn't know him. He could be the most obnoxious and selfish guy in the entire world, but for some reason I was possessive of this man in front of me.

Caroline bumped me out of my trance when she asked me "So what do you want to eat. You know other than our yummy retreat leader your staring at." Bonnie was already at the sandwich station.

I ignored that last part and said, "I'm kind of in the mood for pizza. I had a small lunch and its almost 1 o'clock"

Caroline looked shocked "You're possibly meeting the love of your life and you're eating greasy pizza?!" she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Bonnie came over with her turkey sandwich and said, "But if he's going to be the love of her life, than she should be herself in front of him. I mean, he's going to see her eat pizza eventually right?" I gave Caroline my own smug smile and walked over to the pizza stand when I bumped into a particularly hard chest.

And once I mad contact with those emerald eyes I was sold. I was actually still leaning on him with my hands on his strong chest. His eyes looked concerned as they searched my face for any signs of hurt. His hands were on my arms, steadying me.

"Oh, pardon me. Are you ok?" he asked with his smooth as velvet voice, coming from his perfect lips. Those lips looked like some master artist sculpted them.

Elena say something. Anything. At least do something.

I nodded my head, still not looking anywhere but his mesmerizing eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice filled concern.

I finally got control of myself and replied, "Oh yeah. I'm fine. Sorry." I grudgingly separated myself from his chest.

He smiled and I felt a tug at my heart.

"That's no problem. I probably should have been looking where I was walking anyways" wow. Ok, he's chivalrous and gorgeous. Maybe I should have gotten the salad.

"No that's ok. I'm Elena." I say finally getting full control of my tongue again.

He smiled again. Ugh that smile was going to be the death of me.

"I'm Stefan", he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I know." I replied, blushing "You said so on the bus." Trying to explain.

He nodded in understanding. "Well what would you like?" He said motioning to the pizzas.

"Hmmm. The pepperoni looks good." I said tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and giving him my best flirty smile.

He smirked "Good. I like a girl with a hearty appetite." He said with a wink.

My voice got stuck in my throat.

Right when I was about to respond I heard Ric yell from the stage , "Hey Stef, come give the announcements to the class" Stefan turned around and raised his hand to show he heard Ric.

He turned to me and said, "I'll see you around then", he gave me one more of those gorgeous smiles and ran off to the stage. And I was left there with a pizza.

I turned back around to see where Caroline and Bonnie were and they were in the exact same spot, staring at me with wide eyes, and mouths hanging open.

I walk over to them and the first thing Bonnie does is motion to one of the tables. I turn around and see Katherine staring daggers at me. I turn back and see Caroline smugly looking back at Katherine.

"Well that must have been a good conversation." Bonnie says, with a knowing smile.


	3. Pool Time

Bonnie, Caroline and I got seated at one of the tables and waited for the announcements.

Stefan ran up the steps to the stage and reached the microphone at the front. He looked in my direction before saying, "Ok. Hi again everyone. In case any of you forgot, I'm Stefan. I know you all just got off a bus ride and you're probably all tired from traveling so I'm giving you all the afternoon off to walk and talk or nap until 4:00. At 4:00 we will meet on the volleyball court for our first activity. Until then, Enjoy."

Well we had 3 hours to just hang around before any obligations. It was almost 100 degrees outside, and we all saw an extremely nice little pool on our way to the lunch hall. I think I can guess what we're going to end up doing.

Then I hear Caroline yell, "Who wants to go to the pool?!" All the guys respond with whoops and whistles. Within 5 minutes everyone was going back to his or her rooms to get changed.

"I can't believe I didn't pack my cute bikini. I thought if we were going to do any swimming that it'd be in some slimy old lake, not a clean pool," Bonnie groaned. She was smaller than Caroline and I so we couldn't let her borrow one of out bikinis.

"Oh come on Bonnie. It's not like the guys notice whether the bikini is cute or not. They really only notice what under the bikini." Caroline said wiggling her eyebrows at Bonnie.

We were already at the pool when I stopped dead in my tracks.

Stefan was sitting atop the tall white lifeguard chair with a baseball hat on, a whistle hanging from his neck, and no shirt.

I was right when I assumed he had a sculpted body. His muscled arms were holding a megaphone, but even the word muscled doesn't begin to cover it. He had olive skin and a six-pack any girl would kill to touch.

I silently thank God that I had enough sense to bring one of my better bikinis

He was a lifeguard, too. And not one of those semi-hot ones who you glanced at from time to time. He was a lifeguard that I would seriously consider drowning for, just to feel his arms around me.

"Elena. Elena. Elena!" Caroline shouted in my ear until I jumped and said, "Yes, what care!"

"Quit staring or you'll scare him away. Guys don't like stalker girls" Caroline says in a more hushed tone.

"I wasn't staring. I was admiring. There's a huge difference." I said with blush creeping up my face. Caroline gave me another one of her famous faces when I heard a whistle coming from our left.

Then a voice inside a megaphone said, "Elena please come to the lifeguard chair immediately." I turned and saw Stefan waving one of his hands at me with a megaphone in his other hand. He was motioning at me to come over.

Needless to say, I didn't waste time contemplating my decision.

I walked over to him and oh god did he look gorgeous. When I got there he climbed down from his chair with his biceps bulging. Once he got down he flashed another one of those white, breathtaking smiles showing his perfect teeth.

"Hi" he said with his romance novel stare. Oh god, I think what I feel in my stomach is butterflies, but it could be easily mistaken for the whole zoo in there.

"Hey" I replied with a good-measured lip bite to add some seduction to the conversation. His eyes were glued to my lips so I'm guessing it worked.

He turned to look around and I got a perfect view of his side profile, he had a jawline that could cut glass.

"Our conversation was cut short in the lunch hall. I never got your full name Elena…" he waited for me to fill in my last name.

"Gilbert. Elena Gilbert" I said with smirk present on my face. He smirked back.

"Well, I wouldn't want to deprive your friends of your presence, I hope you have a nice swim, Elena Gilbert." With his ever-present soul-searching stare that left me breathless.

They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. From the looks of it, Stefan Salvatore had a beautiful soul. I wonder if 12 days is enough to get to know Stefan's soul.

"I'll see you around Stefan Salvatore." And as I walked away I realized that he had called me over to get my last name. Just that. Just a name with seven letters, but it was important enough for him to be curious about it. Which meant he was thinking about me. And that was definitely a very good sign.

I got back to the girls and Caroline couldn't help herself: "He's in love with you. It's obvious. He gives you these stares and I swear you look like you're going to die." I blushed and she giggled at my embarrassment. I looked over to where Stefan was sitting and caught him looking over at me before he turned away.

"See! He was just staring at you. I don't know if it's love, but Elena I do think he might have _feelings _for you." Bonnie said, emphasizing the word feelings and wiggling her eyebrows.

"Girls, for once you're right." They stared at me like they didn't know what I was saying "They might as well make me Mrs. Salvatore now." I said sarcastically as we all started laughing.

"But seriously Elena, he definitely is at least attracted to you" Bonnie said, sounding so smart and logical about the situation

"Yeah Elena, I mean look at you. You're hot!" Caroline said a little louder than I was comfortable with.

I chuckled and replied, "And that's my cue to get in the pool before you go full lesbian on me Care." If I was going into the pool in font of Stefan, I might as well put on a show.

I turned and faced away from him even though I knew he was looking. I got my sunscreen and started lathering my back and neck.

"Elena Gilbert stop with the seduction, Stefan is going to explode over there." Caroline said with semi-stern look on her face, but Bonnie was cracking up at my attempted sexy-situation.

We all jumped into the pool. It was about 10 minutes later that I decided I was done with the water and, it was time to get my tan on. Caroline doesn't tan because her pair complexion went perfectly with her baby blue eyes and bouncy blonde hair. And Bonnie hated the idea of tanning because she was afraid of getting skin cancer. So when it came to lying in the sun, I was on my own.

I was lying in the sun for less than 15 minutes when I felt a pair of hands cover my eyes. Then I felt cool breath against my ear that made me shiver, and then I heard a sexy masculine voice say, "Guess who."

I was frozen in place and couldn't move, not that I wanted to either, I was enjoying this situation immensely. I just wanted to be able to move something, anything, really.

"I'll give you a hint. Its your favorite retreat leader." He whispered into my ear again seductively. His lips just barely grazing the edge of my ear making me shudder in response.

I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat and forced my body to regain control. "Well then I know it can't be Stefan." I said jokingly while his hands were still over my eyes.

He scoffed: "Well now I'm just hurt," he said sarcastically as he removed his hands from my face and took a seat in the chair next to me.

"Oh no. Did I hurt the little boy's feelings?" mocking him as he gave me a faux offended face.

"You know, contrary to popular belief, under this bodacious, rock-hard bod, I do feelings." He said joking with me now.

"You know, I buy the feelings part, but your bod could use a little work" That was a complete lie. Not only was his body "bodacious", but also it was distraction me from my conversation.

"You know, that's where I draw the line. I think it's time to go into the pool," he said with an extremely mischievous smile.

"I suddenly realized what he meant. "No. No way Stefan!" But I was too late he had already easily scooped my up over his shoulders. I was yelling and laughing at the same time until the rush of water around me silenced me.

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**Stefan and Elena are bonding, Yay! Get ready for a hike into the woods, emotional confessions and bonding next chapter. I will also be introducing Damon into the story in the next few chapters, don't worry I won't make him all bad ;). Thank you for all the support, this has been great!**


	4. You Think I'm Hot?

We all stayed at the pool for about another half hour before leaving to get changed.

Bonnie, Caroline, and I were laughing about how Caroline almost started drooling when she saw one of the retreat leaders talking to Stefan. He had shorter and curlier brown hair and I think he had a British accent because he called Stefan "mate".

That's when Katherine came over, giggling with her little posse of blonde girls who are all named Britney.

"Well, Salvatore did look pretty hot without a shirt on. I'll let you girls know how he looks without his pants on soon enough." She said deliberately loud enough for me to hear. They all laughed and walked ahead of us into their cabin.

Caroline gave me a sympathetic look before saying, "Ugh. Don't worry Elena, nobody would ever go for trash when he could have all of this." She said while hand motioning towards me.

"It's ok. I don't own him. And I've only known him really for a day so it's not like I can claim him as mine." I said thinking rationally. "At least not yet." I added with a smirk.

Caroline laughed and said, "That's my girl. Fighting for her Salvatore super sperm!" we all burst out laughing while we walked back to our cabins. When we got there, I put on leggings, a red shirt, and a jacket. Then I put on a cute pair of hiking boots I found in the back of my closet the day before that I bought, but never wore.

The class met at the volleyball court at 4:00. That's when Stefan and a guy who looked about 26 or 27 arrived, both wearing matching "Retreat Leader" gray shirts. The man next to Stefan had icy blue eyes and jet-black hair. I was afraid to look at him for too long because he had a permanent scowl on his face.

I heard Caroline next to me whisper, "Uh oh I think we just met another Salvatore."

I didn't even think to wonder if they were siblings, but now I could see it, the guy next to Stefan kind of looked like a mad Stefan with different hair and eye colors.

We all quieted down and they man with the black hair said, "Hi. I'm Damon Salvatore. I co-own this site with Stefan, sorry I couldn't be here earlier, but I was out of town. Stefan is in charge of you all though, so I will leave the babysitting to him." He turned to Stefan and said, "Have at it, brother." Then turned away and walked towards the lunch hall.

"Ok guys, I hope that was enough rest because we are going on our first hike right now. You all look dressed well enough because this hike will be an easy one just to get everyone in the groove of what we are doing here" Stefan said to the whole group. His hair was still a little damp from the pool.

Then Tyler yelled out, "And what exactly are we doing here, Salvatore?" Tyler really hated doing anything except sleep, play football, and hook up with girls.

"Well, Tyler is it? We're here to connect with nature and your classmates because in about 14 days you will all be graduated and going your separate ways. So you can at least try to pretend to have fun for the next few days right?" Stefan replied smoothly. There was some "oooh"s from the class. He then walked to a bin of plastic water bottles and told everyone to take a bottle to drink on the hike.

"Ok everyone who thinks they can hike pretty well can come to the front with me. Everyone else who is like Tyler can stay in the back with Alaric. Your choice" Stefan said with a pearly smile.

Immediately, all the girls went to the front, including Katherine. Caroline and Bonnie each grabbed one of my arms and dragged me to the front and pushed me right into Stefan.

When I knocked into him he turned around and held his hands on my waist, steadying me. This was feeling a bit like our encounter earlier. Except his hands were on my waist, _my waist_. I could feel his hands burning through my shirt. His thumb was on a little spot on my waist that the shirt lifted at. If it were any other guy I would have jumped out of this embrace.

"Whoa there, you ok Elena?"

"Oh. Yeah, sorry. Umm wow two times in one day." I said trying to laugh it off.

He looked me right in the eyes and gave me a kind smile. I mean really, this wasn't so bad. I could spend a few more minutes just gazing into those green orbs he has for eyes.

After seconds of silence he finally spoke: "It's no problem. I kind of like running into you." He finally let me go and walked ahead and left me standing there. Until, he turned around and said to me with a smirk, "Aren't you coming?"

I smiled to myself and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear before I walked towards him. He waited as I caught up.

"So, you might not remember, but I went to Mystic Falls high school." He said matter-of-factly.

"No way," I responded if he went, then I definitely would've remembered him, "I think I would've remembered you."

He smiled and bit his lip stop himself from laughing. "Yeah, you'd think you would remember me, right?" He said chuckling.

"Yeah, or maybe you just weren't as hot in high school," I said laughing.

He suddenly stopped. Then I realized what I said and I turned and looked at him. He looked me straight in my eyes, wearing a sweet but smug smile on his face. "You think I'm hot?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but nothing was coming out. I was just standing there with my mouth open while blush attacked my face.

"Well you're not ugly. So…" I said while looking anywhere but at Stefan.

He started laughing and I couldn't help but join. Until, he turned towards me with a small smile dancing on his lips. He took a step closer to me and stared into my brown eyes with his emerald ones.

_Oh jeez. _Then his head slowly tilted and his right hand came to my hair. But at the last second he pulled away, showing a leaf in his right hand.

He was just pulling a leaf from my hair! But did he have to do it so sexually? I mean really, he could've been very platonic about the whole situation.

"Uh sorry, there was a leaf in your hair" he chuckled with an apologetic look on his face.

"Thanks." I noticed a ring in his middle finger, "that's a cool ring." I said trying to start another conversation.

"Oh, yeah it's a family ring, all the Salvatores are stuck with them. Its kind of weird." He said.

"What about you?" he asked with his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Well, I told you something about me, now you have to tell me something about you" he explained as we continued our hike. We were getting towards the top of the mountain.

"Well what do you want to know?"

"Well that depends," he said. I gave him a questioning eyebrow, "how much much time do you have?"

I smiled. For him, I would have all the time in the world.

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**There will be more Damon in the next chapter! This was just a filler to introduce Damon and get Stefan and Elena talking. Sorry for the fakeout with the leaf, but they can't kiss just yet!**

**Thanks for all the support! I love you all! 3**


	5. Party In The USA

So far Stefan knows that I want to be a writer, I have a little brother going through a drug phase, that my favorite book is Harry Potter, and that I have a diary that I keep hidden behind a hideous ceramic mermaid.

Stefan has told me that he wants to be a doctor and is currently studying to become one at Whitmore University, he has a big brother with a bourbon issue, his favorite book is The Great Gatsby, and he keeps a "journal" because "diaries are for girls".

"OK" he said, trying to think of another question, "favorite song. Go."

"I'm sorry Salvatore, I don't have a favorite song, there's too many. "

He gave me a shocked face, "That's bullshit and you know it. Your favorite song is probably embarrassing and girly, just like your diary." He replied, laughing at his own cleverness.

"You know what. You're right. My song is embarrassing and very girly, I'm not telling you," I said triumphantly as I saw the puppy lip forming on his face.

"You know what. I'll trade you. My favorite song for your favorite song. No way in hell yours is worse than mine."

I bit my bottom lip and thought about it. He could already see me coming around as the smile on his face came back. "You promise yours is more embarrassing."

"Definitely. By far. No contest." He exclaimed with a smug smile on his face.

"Fine. It's A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton," I said hiding my face from his scrutinizing glare.

When he didn't say anything I looked up and saw him battling with his face to keep himself from laughing.

"That's literally the most cliché answer you could've given!" he yelled.

"Shut up! Now you have to tell me your song." I said with blush attacking my face.

His face immediately stopped. I knew this was going to be good.

"Patseh in usha" he mumbled.

"What?"

"Partish in the usha" he mumbled again.

"Stefan Salvatore I swear to everything. Tell me now!"

"Party in the USA" he whispered just barely loud enough for me to hear him as he lowered his head.

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at him waiting for him to say 'gotcha' or 'just kidding!' He didn't.

Now it was my turn to laugh. And I did so loudly and strongly I had to hold onto him for support.

"Easy…" he said with his face full of blush, finally looking up at me.

"I didn't say anything," I replied still giggling.

"Yeah, well your face said something" he answered as we locked eyes. He gave me a small smile.

_Geez, he has really beautiful eyes. They're like huge grasslands encased in those little orbs. _He turned forward again and continued hiking. We eventually got to the bottom of the mountain and I didn't even realize I had been staring at his profile the whole time we hiked.

By the time the hike ended it was almost dark even though it was only 6 o'clock and we were all starving. Stefan announced to everyone to get changed and come to the dining hall for dinner ASAP.

We all dispersed when Stefan grabbed my arm. "So I'll see you later Elena?" he asked.

I nodded just when Bonnie and Caroline both came by next to me and looped their arms through mine. We walked back to the Girl's wing quickly and got changed.

"So I'll see you later, Elena?" Bonnie tried to mimic Stefan's deep and seductive voice.

"Shut-up, we were just talking."

"Mhmm sure, Elena…" Caroline said, wiggling her eyebrows in my direction.

Bonnie chimed in, "Caroline gave you guys a couple name already. Ready? Stelena."

I gave Caroline a confused face.

"Get it? Stefan and Elena. Stelena. Hello? Am I the only person here with cute nickname experience! " Caroline said, exasperated.

"Well Care, I don't think a gorgeous twenty-year-old guy wants to be with me, an eighteen-year-old girl who barely got into college."

"Elena, Whitmore is a great college, your dad went there!"

"So does Stefan." I mumbled to myself.

"What!" Bonnie and Caroline screamed at the same time.

"Yes, he goes to Whitmore, no I haven't told him I was accepted. It looks too weird." I sighed.

"Elena Gilbert its not weird its perfect! And then you can fall in love, go to college, he'll be a doctor and you'll be a writer so you can stay at home with your kids!" she squealed and clapped her hands. "And then after you have your first kid you'll publish your second book and it'll be all about the married life. And then after your second kid you guys will settle down and get a nice big house from his fat doctor paychecks!"

"You know what Care? As good as that sounds, I think it may be a little too early to start planning our lives out."

"Its never too early"

We walked to the dining hall where there were abundances of fresh fish, salads and the ever-popular chicken strips.

Stefan was sitting at one of the long red lunch tables when it happened. Katherine made eye contact with me right before sitting next to him, very closely next to him, if I might add.

Ugh she's over there with the hottest guy in the room, while I'm contemplating whether or not I want chicken strips. I knew Bonnie and Caroline saw me staring when they offered to split dessert. If there's one thing Caroline Forbes doesn't do: it's dessert. Unless it's a lonely Saturday night and she thinks se can watch The Notebook without crying.

"I'm fine, guys, really. He belongs to nobody, not me, and not Katherine and her fake boobs." I said jokingly.

"Maybe not yet, but if we let Katherine spin him in her web, then she'll just spin him into her bed, and he belongs in Elena's bed not hers." Caroline was getting worked up and Bonnie had to calm her down with some fat free yogurt.

I looked over and saw Katherine bending over and basically sticking her boobs out in the open trying to get Stefan's attention, when he seemed extremely interested in his chicken strips.

I found myself staring at him when I caught Katherine's eye. She whispered something into Stefan's ear and he looked straight at me.

Great, she probably told him I was staring at him while he was eating.

But then a smile came to his face and he waved me over. Me. Over. To sit with him and Katherine? I put on my best fake smile and walked over to them.

He stood up still smiling: "Hey Elena, care to join?" He motioned at the seat directly across from him.

I bit my lip pretending to weigh my options, when we all knew I would have said yes in a heartbeat. "Hmm"

He chuckled at me while Katherine was still seated, staring at us.

"I guess so. I mean its not like I have anywhere better to be." My voice was dripping with sarcasm. He smirked at my answer and I chuckled sarcastically.

Oh joy, just Stefan and me. And Katherine. This lunch was going to be just great.

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**So sorry for not updating in about a week! I was in the hospital and couldn't get any writing done but I'm ok now! Sorry for the lack of Damon. This was kind of a filler chapter. **


	6. 11 o'clock, Don't be late

It was 9:00 PM and Caroline, Bonnie and I were getting settled in our room.

"I would've punched her," Caroline said as I explained Katherine's continuous pursuit of Stefan's "Salvatore Super Sperm" as Caroline calls it.

"Yeah, and then what would Stefan have thought?" I replied with my own sassy attitude.

I was sick of Katherine using her lack of clothing and pushup bras to get ahead in life.

"I was under the impression that fighting is a turn on for guys" Caroline said giggling

Bonnie and I rolled our eyes in response.

"I was under the impression that Elena doesn't know how to fight. And Katherine looks like she fights dirty anyways." Bonnie would never think of fighting. She would find some way to use her words to settle the argument. Caroline on the other hand… She would kill someone in a fight over shoes.

"I'm not fighting anyone. And Bonnie's right, I have no idea how to fight," I saw Caroline start to say something.

"But-"

"-And I'm not letting you teach me, Care!"

"Look, all I'm saying is that you deserve the chance to have him too. Not every guy is her property. Stefan didn't even glance at Katherine during the whole dinner. He was staring at Y-O-U. Take a chance, and fight for that fine piece of ass." Caroline may have had a point, but before I could elaborate on it, there was a knock at the door.

I walked over and opened it.

There was Stefan, leaning against the doorframe looking straight at me with a small smirk lingering on his lips. Then I noticed his body again. His shirt didn't have sleeves so I was able to get a nice and long look at his arms. It goes unsaid that he has an amazing body, but I think his arms might be the best things about it, besides his abs of course. I never even noticed that he had a rose tattoo on his right arm. I made a mental note to ask him about that later. I also made a mental note to feel his arms later.

"Oh, hi, um, what are you doing here?" He looked at me when his eyebrows furrowed a bit, "I mean, not that I don't like that you're here. Because I do." I was completely flustered by just one movement on his face.

His brows unfurrowed and a white, ear-to-ear smile replaced his smirk. I finally realized that I sounded like a complete idiot about 2 seconds ago.

"I mean," I gave him a bright smile, "hi."

"Hey, I'm just going around and telling everyone that it's lights out at 10:00 so, you girls should probably start getting ready for bed" he was still smiling from my little communication error.

"Oh yeah, we were just, you know, talking about boys" I said sarcastically.

He moved his arm from the doorframe and chuckled.

He could sense my sarcasm and responded "Oh, well just as long as I'm in the conversation."

My breath hitched a bit after he said that. What would happen if he knew he was the whole boy conversation?

After a moment of silence he spoke, looking at me intently, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Elena. Have a good night."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks, you too."

I moved my hand to close the door when he stopped me with his own hand. I looked up at him as he said:

"Look, I had a lot of fun with you today, and I don't really want that to end." He said in a low voice. I could feel red-hot blush creep up my face. I could tell he was serious, but I couldn't tell if this was a dream or real life.

"So, there's a small staff party at my room tonight, 11:00. Ric wont be there. It's the last room in the Staff Building, number 126." He swallowed before saying, "I want you to come"

I wasn't sure how to respond. There were so many things that could go wrong. I could get drunk and be hung-over tomorrow. I could get caught sneaking out. I could bump into Ric. But, I could also spend more time with Stefan.

Possible suspension or Stefan.

Possible Suspension. Stefan.

Possible Suspension. Time with Stefan.

Stefan wins.

"Oh, yeah. I would love too. Um, can I bring Caroline and Bonnie?" I was afraid he would say that this initiation was exclusive to me.

"Yeah, sure of course. But, that means you're going right?" He looked at me hopefully. Like I could ever say no to those leaf green eyes.

I found myself blushing again. "Yes, of course I'm going."

He released a huff of hair through a chuckle. I hadn't realized he had been holding his breath when I answered. He was nervous. Maybe even as nervous as I was.

"Wow, that's great. I'll see you later then." He was smiling that amazing white smile again and I could help but get butterflies when he looks at me like that.

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

That's when he did it. He kissed me. I mean he kissed my cheek, but his lips made contact with me. His lips lingered around my cheek before he said, "11 o'clock. Don't be late."

I turned my cheek and smiled at the ground. Blushing furiously I wondered if this is what he was feeling too. I looked back up at him, but he was already walking away. I could still feel my stomach doing flips.

I turned around, not even fighting the huge smile on my face, and walked back into the room where Bonnie and Caroline were arguing about who would win in a fight, Katherine or her posse member, Juliette.

"Juliette would kill Katherine. She plays volleyball." Caroline had the idea that anyone who played sports was instantly tough as nails.

"Whatever. There's no point in fighting with you. Elena, who was at the door?" Bonnie turned towards me.

"Stefan" Again, blush found itself squarely on my cheeks.

"Elena! Tell us everything!" Caroline was practically bouncing off her bed with excitement.

"He invited us to a party tonight. And I accepted. So get dressed because I'm officially fighting for that fine piece of ass."

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**Yayy Progress for Stefan and Elena!**

**So sorry for not updating, I'm the worst.**

**Reviews are encouraged! Tell me if you love it or hate it or have any ideas for my next story or this story!**


	7. Drunk

11:00 0'clock came sooner than I expected. The Salvatore property was way bigger than I had initially thought, and finding my way to the Staff Building was a challenge in the dark and in my heels while Caroline was making a game plan of what we would do when we arrived at the party.

"Elena? Elena are you even listening to me!?" Caroline yelled as we made a turn toward the music.

"No, instead I'm paying attention to where we're walking."

The Staff Building was much bigger than I imagined. We entered the building and finding Stefan's room was easier than I had previously thought. All we did was follow the sound of music and laughter.

When we opened the door he was shirtless again. I think Stefan might have a habit of not wearing full clothing, not that I'm complaining of course, he looks like a Greek God in skinny jeans.

"Hey Elena!" He ran over and scooped me up into a hug with my arms pinned to my side. He was spinning and I could hear his laugh as well as a rap song that I knew no words to.

When he finally put me down I was laughing as well, mostly at the fact that he had a party hat on, but no shirt. I took my time letting my eyes take him in. He had dark jeans on with boots with the laces untied. His hair was gelled up, but it looks like some people had been messing with it because it was very untamed. I finally looked to his face when I realized that his eyes were taking me in as well. When he looked back up at me my cheeks were attacked with blush.

"So who are your friends?" he motioned to Bonnie and Caroline, who I had forgotten where even here.

"Right, this is Caroline and this is Bonnie." Caroline gave a polite head nod and Bonnie shook his hand.

"Stefan, I distinctly remember seeing a very attractive man with curly hair and a British accent at the pool," Caroline said while her eyes scanned the party looking for her British Boy.

Stefan grew a mischievous grin

"Ah, yes that is the notorious Niklaus. Nik for short. He just happens to be my best friend. His reputation is almost as great as mine." Stefan obviously knew something that Caroline did by the way he said that.

"Well that sounds promising. Is Nik here?" She was on her tippy-toes now looking around the room.

"Nik!" Stefan called over a handsome young guy. He looked the same age as Stefan, but he had shorter wavier hair that curled a bit at the end. He was also shorter than Stefan by about two inches, but was very cute.

"Hello ladies" He had an English accent that made even me swoon.

"Caroline" He motioned to my blonde friend, " this is Nik, Nick this is Caroline" Stefan looked between the two as Nik took Caroline's hand and kissed it.

Caroline's face was full of wonder as this man in front of her was acting like a gentleman. Caroline's last boyfriend was the typical jock and womanizer. His name is Tyler; he is Matt's best friend. When Matt and I dated we would double date almost every weekend. Tyler ended up cheating on Caroline with some sophomore at a party. She barely recovered.

"Caroline it's a pleasure to meet you. May I interest you in a drink?" He held his arm out and Caroline accepted before giving Bonnie and I a worried look. Nik gave Stefan a wink and walked into the heart of the party.

Stefan laughed and turned back to Bonnie and me. Almost as if he had just realized that he didn't have a shirt on, he said, "I'll be right back, I just need to find my shirt. Elena, make sure to save me a dance."

Then he, too, ran off into the party. Bonnie and I turned to each other and laughed before trying to find the drinks.

Saying that I got hammered would be an understatement. I am a huge lightweight. Bonnie knows this, Caroline knows this, but sometimes I don't remember this when I'm taking jello shots.

While stumbling around I finally stumble into the right person, Stefan that is.

"Hey there, I've been looking for you." He was still sober, I think, my thought process is a little foggy when I'm drunk.

"Well, I've been looking for you too" I said in my best flirty voice as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I could see his eyes searching my face, looking for some reason that I would pull myself to such a close proximity to him.

I leaned in and could smell cool mint on his breath as well as smelling some sort of cologne that I was too intoxicated to make out. He stiffened, not from uncomfortable-ness, but from being so close, or at least I think.

"I think it's time," I whispered into his ear, "for that dance."

I leaned out still looking at him, watching him swallow a lump in his throat agonizingly slow.

"Absolutely." He tried to smirk, but he looked almost as nervous as I felt.

I grabbed his hand and turned around to where everyone was dancing. I had this newfound confidence given to me by alcohol and I was sure as hell going to use it with Stefan.

I kept walking, leading Stefan to the dance floor. When I finally reached a spot on the floor that wasn't occupied by other couples we started dancing.

By then, the music has already taken me. I feel free. I don't care who's watching. My hair is flying and the alcohol is taking its toll.

I turn back to him and yell, "I'm having so much fun!"

He is smiling and I can see a glimmer in his eye, indicating that he is having fun, too.

Then he puts his hands on my face, cupping my cheeks and says, "I can tell."

He's so close to me now. His hands leave my face and fall to my hips. I'm not sure if it's the alcohol or the fact that e smells like mint or the fact that I've never felt this nervous when being such close proximities to a guy before, but I go for it. I kiss him.

At first there's nothing. No reaction, just lips on lips.

Then he shuddered and it became searing. I through my hands around his neck as his arms around my waist are pulling me closer to him.

I crash into him, I can't tell where I end and he starts. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

When we finally release each other, I'm breathing heavily, trying to catch air into my lungs. When I look back at him, his green eyes are glistening.

I lean back in for more when he stops me.

"No, Elena, you're drunk" he says this and I think about how even when I'm not drunk I still want to kiss him. So I say that.

"Even when I'm not drunk I still want to kiss you" I lean in once again, only to have him turn away once more.

"Elena, I really don't want our first kiss to be when you're drunk at can't remember it tomorrow morning. " I can already see his face becoming more set upon the idea that this is only because I'm drunk.

"Elena, I think I should take you back to your dorm. Sit here on the couch and I'll go find your friend Bonnie." He leads me to a couch that was occupied by another couple that was making out about ten minutes ago. I sit down willingly, knowing I wont be getting anything from Stefan tonight, other than a goodbye or a cup of coffee to cure my drunkenness.

As he walks away I notice that with each step he takes, the room is getting a little darker. Until it is all black.


	8. The Morning After

I wake up rapidly and violently. I feel like I fell asleep on a nonstop rollercoaster. The sunshine is attacking my eyelids causing my blurry vision. It takes some time to get used to the light shining through the window.

Then I feel my head.

It feels so heavy; I don't think I can lift it off the pillow. I try to remember last night, but I'm coming up with nothing.

Wait. Stefan. We kissed. Like for real, this wasn't one of those dreams that I have about Zac Efron, I think this was real. We kissed then he told me that I was just drunk.

Like hell was I just drunk, I was just braver last night.

The last thing I remember is being set onto a couch and watching Stefan's butt as he walked away. He has a really nice butt. But then, nothing, darkness, nada.

It is at this point that I notice that I have no idea where I am. I'm in a bed, that's for sure. Oh shit, what if I drunkenly hooked up with someone last night. Jeez Elena, just slowly turn to your right and see if there is a naked boy next to you.

Oh, thank God, it's just me.

I try and get up and feel like I've just had the wind knocked out of me. Like and invisible fist is hitting me with a hangover over and over again. I think I might throw up.

I finally get up on my third try and realize that I'm wearing a man's gray "save the forest" t-shirt and boxers. I once again revisit the possibility of a drunken hookup until I remember that nobody who would "save the forest" would drunkenly hookup as well.

Coffee. I need coffee.

I also need to find out where I am, and who lent me their clothes, and also how I got into their clothes. Especially the last part because I'm not big on taking my clothes off in front of strangers.

I have no more questions when I see Stefan walk in the door.

God he looked good. His hair was messy and damp in a really sexy kind of way. He wasn't wearing a shirt, I would never complain about that. Any opportunity to see his body was a good opportunity. He wore sweats that hung loosely around his hips. Did I mention that he was shirtless?

"Look at this, Sleeping Beauty finally woke up" He had two cups of coffee in his hand; he offered me the one on his right. Right when I took my first sip, I felt immediately better. Caffeine is my addiction.

"Stefan you are a lifesaver. Thank you… Umm what time is it?"

"Oh don't worry, it's 7:30. Nobody ever wakes up before 8:30. And because breakfast is at 9 and the hike is at 10 so you're fine and Ric has no idea that there was an amazing party last night."

Thank God. His words calmed me down enough to realize that I smelled scrambled eggs from the kitchen.

"Um is that scrambled eggs I smell?" I could feel the pit inside my stomach; I was starving.

"Yeah, you can have as much as you want. I made some after my shower" He turned and led me to the kitchen.

"So, do you remember much of last night? You were pretty faded. I left you on the couch for like a minute and you fell asleep." Stefan was grabbing me a plate and putting the scrambled eggs from the pan on.

I could feel the embarrassment on my cheeks taking form as a fiery red blush.

"Yeah, thank you so much for taking care of me, I was kind of a mess" I wore and apologetic look and he just smiled at me. He set the plate across the circular table in his small, but cozy kitchen.

"But, um how did I get out of my dress and into your "Save The Forest" T-shirt?" I could still feel the blush.

"Right… Well after I took you to bed and laid you down, you kind of started waking up, and stripping. You were talking about how your dress was so uncomfortable. And you needed to take it off. So you did." Now he was the one looking embarrassed.

I stared right at my eggs, not taking my eyes off them. Oh no, did he see me? He probably saw the scar from when I had my appendix removed and my bellybutton. Nobody has an attractive bellybutton.

I swallowed before asking, "And what next?"

He smiled again and said, "So before I got the chance to see anything, I turned around and got you a T-shirt and boxers. And I gave them to you with my eyes shut."

He was wearing a trademark smirk. He played me this whole time. I threw a piece of egg at him and we both smiled.

"Thank you again. For taking care of me and" I cleared my throat, "not looking".

"Hey, it's no problem. I kind of liked being the hero. And when you're drunk, you laugh at all my jokes so that's a plus."

We both started laughing and looked at each other, when I remembered the kiss. I know he remembered it when his look changed as well.

"Elena, we should talk about that kiss. I mean, you do remember that kiss right? It wasn't just a dream because it feels like something I would dream about."

Remember the Kiss? The Kiss has been on my mind and in my thoughts since waking up. And I've been thinking about kissing him since I saw him.

"Listen Stefan, I didn't kiss you because I was drunk, I've wanted to kiss you since I bumped into you in the cafeteria. Drunk Elena is just better at conveying her feelings, I guess. "

His face was serious, until it wasn't. Suddenly he broke out into a smile. He leaned in, across the table, his hand on my cheek, as if it appeared out of thin air.

Just as he tilted his head down toward my lips, the clanging of a pot and a half naked Caroline interrupted us.

Then, running in shirtless in his bright blue boxers was the cute British boy from last night. His name is Nik I think.

I'm not sure who was in a more compromising position. Stefan and I were about to have our fist sober kiss, but only a white sheet clothed Caroline.

The kitchen was silent.

Then Caroline said, "I thought you said Stefan would be out by now!" Her face was a dark shade of Scarlet Red.

"Sorry love, I smelled eggs. I couldn't resist myself." Nik was now stepping in from of Caroline, leading her back to his room.

I'm still speechless.

Then I yell to care, "we are going to talk about this later!"

"You bet we are!"

I look back to Stefan when he whispers in such close proximity, "I guess we'll have to wait for the next romantic moment" He winks.

With that, he gets up and washes my empty dish.

Yes, there will definitely be more romantic moments.

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**Hey guys! Sorry I've been so busy! Finals are a bitch but I'm back now and it's summer! So I'll definitely be writing more. Congrats to me for making it past my freshman year of highshool.**


	9. And, And, And

I helped Stefan clean the dishes as we talked more about my family life at home.

We talked about Jeremy and his "issues" and how they related to his brother, Damon, and his "issues".

Stefan even told me about one time when Damon came home drunk on Thanksgiving and when Stefan tried to get him upstairs into his room, Damon punched him.

We just shared stories and it was fun and playful.

"And then when I turned about nine I wouldn't go anywhere without my football, even to my first movie. And to make a long story short, I never got a second datewith her."

We had finished all the dishes by then and were now just sitting at the sink.

"So now I'm going to need and Elena Gilbert embarrassing story."

He looked at me hopefully as my mind scrambled to find a funny but not too embarrassing story.

"Okay, I have one. When I was around eleven, I had a really bad habit of biting my pencils. So one day, I was in class and I was biting my pencil and I bit a piece of wood off of the pencil and ended up swallowing it."

His eyes widened and his smile crept up his face at the story, but I wasn't finished.

"So then I told the teacher, in tears, that I had swallowed wood, and I was so afraid that I was going to end up with a splinter in my stomach."

At this point he was laughing at my young girl naïve-ness.

"So I stayed home for the next few days with, what I think was fake stomach pains made up from my imagination and paranoia."

"Alright, I think you won for the most embarrassing story."

Silence was the only person speaking at this point, but it wasn't awkward, more like comfortable silence.

If this was a Nicholas Sparks book, then this is where I would gaze into Stefan's eyes and realize that he is "the one".

He leaned onto the counter and when he spoke he said, "I think your friend Caroline is gone now, and people might be waking up."

I told him that I had to get back to my room and put on some of my own clothes before Ric tells us all to get up for breakfast. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and let me sneak out the back of the building.

I got back to my room before 8:30. If Ric saw me… I don't even want to think about that.

I snuck into my room and there was Bonnie and Caroline waiting for me. They were sitting on the bed, already dressed and with eager looks on their faces.

Caroline broke the silence and was the first to speak.

"So how is he?ow How" She was staring at me with wide eyes and a smile on her face.

"How is who? And at what?" I took a seat on one of the chairs in the room.

Bonnie rolled her eyes before saying, "Stefan and Sex. Now answer her question. We have a bet about how good he is on a scale of 1-10."

I wish I could give them an answer to their questions. I mean, I really do wish I could. Lord knows Stefan would definitely be a 10.

"I really wouldn't know, Bonnie. But luckily Caroline will be able to tell us all about how British Boys are on a scale of 1-10"

Bonnie now had the wide eyes as she turned her excited look to Caroline. Caroline's face was once again a shade of red as she, for the first time in her life, looked speechless.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you hooked up with Nik! This whole time you could have told me you had secretive sex, but noooooo, you decide to tell me a false story about Elena and Stefan's hookup." I have never heard Bonnie sound more like a girl in my whole life.

Bonnie has always been the sensible one. She had a boyfriend named Luka junior year, but one day he went on a family rip to Colorado, when he came back, he dumped her. Just like that. He told her he would "Always love you". Nobody really even knows what happened on that trip. All we know is that afterwards she gave up men until college. She has a 4.2 GPA and has never been so interested in Caroline's hookups before. I mean, Caroline doesn't hookup that often, she has a healthy sexual appetite, but she is by no means a slut. I'm just happy that Bonnie is excited about more than her acceptance to Brown University.

"Hey! In my defense Stefan and I did kiss, but yes Caroline did the nasty with a Brit and apparently didn't tell you."

Bonnie looked like her head was about to explode with all of this information.

Caroline spoke at last, "I think I like him."

That was something we never expected to hear from Caroline.

When Caroline and Tyler were together they loved each other so much that I actually thought they might end up together after high school. Then when he cheated on her, well she stopped having real feelings for guys, she never really recovered from Tyler cheating.

But since then Caroline has had no feelings around boys whatsoever. If she likes someone, I like him.

"Care, that's great! But more importantly…" I developed a serious face, "How is he in bed?"

"It was great, really great." She was smiling, like actually smiling. Caroline has her bubbly smile that she does just so she can smile, but when she really smiles you can tell it's her real smile.

"And he does this thing with his-"

"-And that's where we end it" Bonnie said in a rather loud voice.

We all laughed before Caroline said, "All I know is that I don't think I'll be able to go back to American Boys after that"

Bonnie turned her body toward me.

"Your turn, Elena, how was the kiss?"

I didn't even get a word out before Caroline started singing, "Stefan and Elena sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes kissing, then comes sex, then comes-"

"-I don't even want to know where you're going with that Care".

Bonnie put her hand up into the air with her eyes closed.

I tried to think of the words to describe that kiss. Searing, breathtaking (literally), minty, I felt like I was flying.

"The kiss was amazing. He is by far the best kisser I have ever kissed and I like him. And I think he likes me, too. And he makes laugh, and he has really weird taste in music, and he takes care of his older brother even though it should be the other way around, and he wants to be a doctor and help people and he smells like mint and-." I didn't even realize that I had been babbling on and on until I saw Care and Bonnie's faces.

Caroline and Bonnie were looking at me like they were about to cry. They had the look that you get when a baby is born or you see a puppy.

"What? Did I say something stupid?" I tried remembering exactly what I said when Care interrupted.

"Oh my God, do you love him?"


	10. Now What?

_Stefan's POV_

"I'm sorry what was that?"

Nik was staring at his breakfast when he repeated himself, "I think I really like her."

This is big news. Nik doesn't do like. He hasn't done like since his last girlfriend got pregnant with another guy's kid while they were dating.

He was ready to take responsibility for it and even getting ready to help raise it when she told him it wasn't his. She took a paternity test and it was the other guy's child. It damn nearly killed him.

"I think she's a nice girl, but are you sure you're ready to get back into a relationship?"

I was only asking for his own good. And a little bit of mine. He went completely mental after his last relationship. I could barely get him back after that. The next girl can't hurt him, or he'll be gone.

"I never said that. I never said relationship."

"Nik, she's about to graduate high school. I don't think she'd be ready for an open relationship or whatever".

"I didn't say that either." He developed a more serious face as he said, "I've had like 30 seconds to think about this. Can you back off so I can think? I'd say we're in the same boat, what about Elena?" He was right. I was rushing him to make a decision about his girl, because I still hadn't made a decision about mine.

"I'm sorry. Really, I was just projecting." I continued playing with the tablecloth as I came to a realization: "I do like her." Nik looked confused as I said this: "I do. I like the way she smiles and the way she listens to my stories no matter how long they are or how stupid. I like that she laughs at my jokes more than anyone I've ever known. And she's smart and can carry a conversation. And she's brave and responsible and so incredibly caring especially to her brother. She walks around with this awe of the world that I love so much. So yeah, I do like her."

Nik didn't blink.

"You sound like you more than like her, mate"

Right as he said that the intercom came on saying, "Hello residents and young teen people" yep, that was definitely Damon on there, "it's 8:30 which means breakfast is in half an hour. Wake up and get your adolescent selves over there now. Also dress appropriately for the hike. Not that I care, if it was up to me I would have you all dress inappropriately, but alas we have rules here, for some reason."

I got up and headed to y room without another word to Nik.

Was it possible? To _more_ than like her? To love her? I liked her that's for sure. I want to ask her out there's another easy one, but love? I hear so much about love lately I don't know what to believe. There's love at first sight then the best friend turned lover then the enemy turned lover and the true love that you knew was love all along.

How am I supposed to know what love is when everyone is giving me different definitions?

I threw on a shirt and it smelled amazing, I looked down to realize it was my Save the Forest shirt, the one that Elena wore, the one that smells like it was dusted by angels.

I put on a different shirt and headed out with 5 minute to spare. There was a small trail of sleepy teenagers walking up to the dining hall. The air was crisp with light fog, my favorite weather to hike in. This day could only get better if-

-there she was.

She was dressed in hiking shorts- appropriate- and a black shirt covered by a flannel. Her hair was in a ponytail, exposing her neck and making it really hard to keep my train of thought going. Her friends laughed and she turned and looked at me.

Her smile was kind, but held a secret. A secret only we knew, which was how we almost kissed earlier. I smiled back and waved as I watched them enter the hall.

_Elena's POV_

"Hottie staring right at you" Bonnie said.

"What?" I responded without looking around, trying to play it cool.

"I'll take a quick look and see if he's still gazing at our lovely Elena" Care turned slyly and said, "he can totally tell we're looking, you should probably turn around before he thinks we're stalkers"

We all laughed and I turned.

He looked great. I knew he would, I saw him an hour ago, but wow. I couldn't help but smile at him, knowing that we almost shared a kiss earlier. He waved with a smile that looked more like a smirk now that I'm thinking about it. Like a child who knows a secret.

Breakfast was almost as good as those eggs earlier. There were fresh croissants and fruit and plenty of water to hydrate for the hike. My excitement was almost consuming. The hike seemed like the perfect place to get to know more about Stefan. I could barely control myself.

"Alright, I assume everyone remembers the rules for our hikes" Stefan said as we circled up around him, "Anyone who still doesn't quite grasp what we're doing here can hang out with Mr. Lockwood and Mr. Saltzman" His hand motioned to Tyler who had a disgruntled look on his face while standing next to Alaric.

We grabbed the water bottles and made our way to the trail. I was about to speed up and walk with Stefan when a hand softly grabbed my shoulder.

"Elena, could we talk?"

It was Matt. For the first time in weeks, he was making eye contact with her and she couldn't crush his confidence by brushing him off.

"Yeah, of course. What's up?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for avoiding you and just making your life harder" His blue eyes were full of sincerity as he spoke, "I was taking my anger out on you and blaming you for the breakup instead of looking at myself"

I was lucky we were walking and talking because I could always look at the scenery if he got too emotional, more likely if I got emotional.

"Matt, honestly it's okay. You were hurt and you needed time. We all lash out sometimes. And you didn't do anything wrong, we just weren't right, you know?"

I needed him to know that he was a great boyfriend, just not the one.

"I get it. But we're graduating in two weeks, I didn't want to leave for Alabama without apologizing"

"Gotta get that southern hospitality down before college right?" I joked with him and he actually laughed. I hadn't heard that in what felt like forever.

"Exactly" he smiled and looked ahead at the trail, "And I'm glad to know that you found someone who really makes you smile" he nodded ahead and I turned to see Stefan and Caroline talking to, or rather grilling, Stefan.

I smiled and looked back at Matt, "Yeah, me too".

Guess who's back? I'm so sorry for the EXTREMELY LONG BREAK. So much has happened I can't even explain, but I'm trying to revive this story and my account here so please give me responses and ways that I could do better. I warms my heart that people still care so much about this story. - Gabby


End file.
